Here is a bit of catch-up on the knitting I've been doing this year. In no particular order...
Above is the top of my Backup Goalie hat. I'm (obviously) very enamored with how the color work decreases at the top.

I'm pretty in love with the whole hat, really. I love chevrons and geometric patterns, and even though I've been knitting for many years, I have avoided color work. Until now. Now I'm kind of obsessed. It makes me feel clever! The yarn is Plucky Knitter Primo Worsted, and it's amazing.

Believe it or not, I knit these before the hat. A little ambitious, yes (I choose to say ambitious, not crazy, because it worked out!). These mittens are the Hickory Mittens, and yes, you see SIX colors in there. As many as four per row. No big deal- ha!! I love them, but I'm not motivated to do anything that complicated (and tangly) any time soon.

The yarn is knit picks Wool of the Andes. They are beautiful on the outside. Not going to show you the inside. Yikes. I need to work on my floats.

This lovely cowl is Pei, knit in Lorna's Laces Honor. It is so soft and squishy!

This pattern is supposed to be knit in fingering weight, but I knit it in DK. I always seem to have trouble with knits like this curling on me, and this one curls like crazy too. It is so soft though, so I'm keeping it as is.

These two sets of fingerless mittens are both my own simple design. The ones on the left are a lovely cashmere and the ones on the right are from some knit picks bare I dyed myself. I'm keeping the cashmere ones and the green ones are going to be a gift.
Notice a color theme?

Guess what, blog readers... I knit! I am actually a much more accomplished knitter than seamstress, but sewing has really caught my interest lately, so that's what has been showing up here. As school winds down (2 more days to go!!) I assume I'll get more knitting in.
Yesterday as I was in the kitchen making Father's Day dinner and cleaning, I was dying yarn too. I love dyeing wool yarn with kool-aid and food coloring! This time the yarn was recycled, too!

Before...

Here is the sweater I got at Goodwill. For $10 I got a large, hand knit, 100% wool sweater. The yarn was a single (one twisted strand of wool) and bulky weight. That's a lot of yarn!! Here's how much I ended up with:

(Sorry for the blurry indoor shot.)

This sweater was stitched together with mattress stitch so it was super easy to take apart. I took the seams apart then found where each piece ended, cut apart the knit, and unraveled it! My mom helped with this part- it's a lot faster with two people!

For the first skein (around 150 yards), I tried to use colors I wouldn't normally use. I tried Wilton copper, peach, and mauve. (I am not a mauve person.) Guess what? I didn't like it!! Surprise! I dumped Wilton violet and a package of grape kool-aid in and I'm happier with the result. It's not me, but all of this yarn is being dyed to make gifts, though, so I think I know of someone who this is the perfect color for.

Next was ice blue lemonade kool-aid. It made a very pretty ice blue color- of course! I love it and will have a hard time parting with the finished product, I'm sure.

The last two skeins were yellows. The bright yellow is lemonade kool-aid. It's a perfect school spirit yellow. It will make great fingerless mittens for cheering on our local sports teams! The darker one was an attempt at mustard yellow, but it came out more orange than I expected. I used Wilton yellow then added copper later. I think it could have used a little brown maybe?

I have an obsession with knitting fingerless mittens, and all of these lovely skeins are going to be knitted up into fingerlessittens for gifts. If you don't own fingerless mittens, you need some! They are perfect for keeping warm but still being able to get stuff done! I hate mittens and gloves, because I feel so clumsy with them on- and believe me, I don't need any help in that arena!! Fingerless mittens are the perfect solution. Seriously. Go get some. Yes, I know it's warming up here in the northern hemisphere, but think ahead... you won't regret it!!

I'll share the finished products with you all as they get done. I'm hoping to work on these right away, so this yarn doesn't get lost in the stash. Not that it ever happens...

PS- that was only about half the yarn from the sweater... maybe yarn for hats is next?

I tried to get this project and post done in time for Project Sewn, but the school year is winding down and things are getting crazy. Let's go with it anyway, shall we?

It's not hard to figure out what a signature look for me would be. We had a day during spirit week at my school where students dress like teachers and teachers dress like students. Two students (one of whom was my own daughter) chose this exact combination: maxi skirt, knit top, and scarf or cowl. Here's a (blurry!) photo of M and I in our swapped outfits:

I used some left over green knit to make myself a new maxi skirt. It's either a little shorter than I like, or a little tighter than I like, depending on how far I tug it down around my hips, but I really like it anyway. I'll be wearing this all summer with a T or a tank. For the chilly morning pictured I added my jean jacket.

Making one of these is easy! Take an existing maxi that fits you and trace the front and back. I had to do the back in two pieces due to lack of fabric, but it really reduced waste so I like that! Trace the waistband too, making sure that you make it twice as tall as you want your finished waist band to be. Sew the skirt pieces together, fold the waistband in half and attach it to the skirt... done! That's it! No hem since it won't fray. Super easy and super comfortable!

Details:Pattern- none!Fabric- green knit from Joann'sNotions- none!Wearability- very highRepeatability- I probably don't need another, but will probably make one anyway!Audiobook- Inferno by Dan Brown